The Lancastrians were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

, formed in

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population ...

, Cheshire, England. They are best remembered for their only

hit record A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, "

We'll Sing in the Sunshine "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" is a 1964 hit song written and recorded by Gale Garnett which reached No. 2 in Canada, and No. 4 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week ending 17 October 1964. It also enjoyed success on easy listening a ...

", released in December 1964. Other single releases were "The World Keeps Going Round" written by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voc ...

, "

Let's Lock the Door (And Throw Away the Key) "Let's Lock the Door (And Throw Away the Key)" is a song written by Roy Alfred and Wes Farrell and was released by Jay and the Americans in 1964. The song went to No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music in ...

", and "Was She Tall".

History

The group was formed by Barry Langtree and Kevin Heywood in 1956, then known as The Heartbeats. They included vocalist, Tommy Hart, drummer Pete Yeoman, bassist Roger Goodier and became Tommy Hart & The Heartbeats. They were spotted by BBC radio scouts and recorded alongside the Northern Dance Orchestra. Once Hart left the group, they became Barry Langtree & The Lancastrians, and recruited two new members, Terry Benson on bass and John Fleury on drums. The band's manager decided to shorten their name to The Lancastrians. They played alongside Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Cilla Black,

The Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The g ...

, and appeared on television, plus they played summer and winter shows. They were introduced to the

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Shel Talmy Sheldon Talmy (born August 11, 1937) is an American record producer, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work in the UK in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks and many others. Talmy arranged and produced hits such as "You Really Got Me" ...

, who produced all their six singles. Session players including Jimmy Page and

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...

appeared on a couple of their singles. Page played back-up guitar on "Was She Tall" and "The World Keeps Going Round". Their

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "

", peaked at No. 44 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in December 1964, where it had a two-week residency. However, after a tour of Germany in 1967, they decided to disband. The group reformed in February 2001, and played many local gigs including a reunion show in Chirk,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Discography

*1964: "

" / "Was She Tall" ( Pye 7N 15732) *1965: "

" / "If You're Gonna Leave Me" (Pye 7N 15791) *1965: "They'll Be No More Goodbyes" / "Never Gonna Come On Home" (Pye 7N 15846) *1965: "Lonely Man" / "I Can't Stand the Pain" (Pye 7N 15927) *1966: "The World Keeps Going Round" / "Not the Same Anymore" (Pye 7N 17043) *1966: "

Ballad of the Green Berets "The Ballad of the Green Berets" is a patriotic song in the ballad style about the United States Army Special Forces. It is one of the few popular songs of the Vietnam War years to cast the military in a positive light and in 1966 became a major h ...

" / "My Little Rose" (Pye 7N 17072)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancastrians English pop rock music groups People from Altrincham